IL PAPA

Going to Catholic mass at St. Peters Basilica was an experience that I will never forget! On Sunday morning we got a group of us together to get in line early in order to get a seat during the church service. Not only was it amazing to see a service in a church I have learned so much about, but it was also beautiful listening to a service in Italian. After the service the Pope was giving a speech at noon to a huge crowd outside of the church. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Pope speak while he is still in good health. Even though I am not catholic, it was incredible to see all of the people who had been waiting all morning for the Pope to give his speech. He has such a large influence on Italy both religiously and politically that it is incomparable to anything I have ever seen before.

If that wasn’t enough action for the day, we followed that up with an AS Roma soccer game. After the service we all caught a bus over to the Olympic Stadium for the AS Roma game versus Catania. When we bought our tickets the day before, we had thought about buying the cheapest tickets that they sold, but we were afraid that there would be a poor view of the field. After finding our seats, we had regretted upgrading because the best seats in the house were not the ones with the greatest view. All of the cheap seats were full of rowdy AS Roma fans who were singing and cheering during the whole game. It was an incredible sight to see the entire stadium empty except for the cheap seat tickets. AS Roma eventually won the game 2-0 after an amazing header and a goal scored on a penalty kick.